Ofeeating mechanism foe eailwat switches



2 Sheets-Sheef1,

(No Model.)

W. B. s. REED. OPERATING MEGHANISM FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES. I

Patented Jan. 19', 1886..

' INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES n -m Washington. a. c

- (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. B. S. REED.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES.

No.334,6 12. -Pa,t entedJa,n.19,1886.,

ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

WILLIAM B. S. REED, OF BROOKLYN,-NEW YORK.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR RAILWAY-SWITCHES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,612, dated January 19, 1886. Application filed September 27, 1884. Serial No. 144,116. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. S. REED, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Operating Railway- Switches, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invent-ion consists in improved mechanism for operating railway switches from switch-houses in situations where there are numerous converging linesof rails, the object being to insure safety by preventing the possibility of mistakes, and also to lock the switches securely either open or closed. To these ends I provide the hereinafter described mechanism, whereby but a single lever is used, and such lever is inoperative to open more than one switch or system at a time or to open another while one remains open.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecilication, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts-in all the figures.

Figure lis ageneral plan view'of the switchoperating mechanism as applied to two connectiug double lines of rails. tical section of the operating-stand and mechanism. Fig. 3 is' a vertical section at right angles to Fig. 2. and Fig. 4 is a section on line 00 x of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the lock devices.

Referring to Fig. 1, the movable switchpoints a and their operating rods or bars b are of usual arrangement. At the side of each switch a three-armed lever, c, is pivoted for movement in a horizontal plane, and has one of its arms jointed to the outer forked end of switchbar b, while to the opposite arm of this lever c is jointed a rod, (1. For purposes hereinafter indicated,'the .pin or bolt connecting the lever to bar b passes through a slot in the bar, so that the lever may move a shortdistance before operating the switch. The third arm of the lever c is jointed to the end of a dog, 6. that is fitted to slide'between guides on a plate, f, which is bolted securely to the ties, andthe plate f is made with a doubleinclined projection,f, which, in connection with a recess in the under side of a dog, 6, (see Fig. 5,) causes the dog 6 to rise at its outer end at the first movement of lever 0. thereby clearing the dog from a projection, b, on the Fig. 2 is a vei'-- lower arm of bar I), so that the further movement of thelever may operate the switch. The dog falls again when the switch is fully opened or closed, thus locking the switch, and it is to be observed that this look relieves the operating mechanism of all strain.

In connection with each switch there is a detecting-bar, h, hung by arms or links at the side of one rail, so as to be raised above the level of the rail by the connecting-rod g from lever 0 while the switch is .being either opened or closed. This bar it is of such a length to extend from one truck of a car to the other, so that an attempt to move the switch until a train has entirely passed will be prevented by the car-wheels holding the bar It down.

The connecting-rods d from the several switches all pass to the operating-stand A, the construction and arrangement of which is shown in Figs. '2, 3, and 4, and is as follows:

i is a vertical shaft supported by an upper plate, It, and lower plate, It, and carrying a gear-wheel, Z, which is attached by grooves and feathers, so as to be free to move up and down on the shaft.

m is a second vertical shaft carrying a number of segment-gears, it, loose thereon in position for being engaged any one of them with gear-wheel Z as the latter is raised or lowered. At hi rd shaft, 0, carries segment-gears n,similarly arranged with reference to gear-wheel l, and I remark that the number of shafts and number of segments on each will vary according to the number of switches to be operated from the stand. Each segment n is formed with an arm, connected to one of the rods d, that pass to the switch-levers.

q is a lever or handle fixed on the upper end of shaft 6, and extending to and resting on a raised supporting-plate, r.

s is a lever fucrumed at 8, whose inner end is forked and engages a groove in the hub of gear-wheel Z, and whose outer end extends beneath a horizontal slide-rod, r, fitted beneath plate 1". The rod 0" has an arm, 8", which is slotted horizontally to receive the lever s, so as to hold the same in position as moved up or down. The slots correspond to the number of segment-gears i1; consequently the lever 8 being held in one slot the gear-wheell is engaged with one segment n and its corresponding segment n. The sliderod r is held in ISO position to retain levers by a spring, 25, and on the rod is an arm, 16, projecting upward through plate r into a position for being moved by handle q, when the latter is moved on plate 7' far enough to close the switch. The result of this arrangement is that levers cannot be moved while engaged with the slotted arm of rod 1", and the handle q can be used to move rod 1" only when the handle is moved to the closed-switch position. The possibility of error is thus practically eliminated. The gearwheel Z has a vertical plate, 16, sliding through upper plate, 7. and numbered to show the position of the gear-wheel.

Each switch-rod d has suitable connections, 10, to signals for operating the signals simultaneously with the switches, and the segments a, as shown, also operate signals by their arms 1). I

In place of using segment-gears, as shown, there may be simple interlocking arms used on the shafts.

In some systems it may be necessary to open two switches at once by one movement of the lever, which can be done by suitable connections, and I do not limit myselfin that respect.

Having thus described myinvention, Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a railwayswitch, the combination, with switch-bar b and the three-armed lever 0; having one of its arms connected to said bar,

of the locking-dog 6, connected to the arm of the said lever, which projects at right angles to the other two arms, the detecting-bar h, and the rod 9, connected to the detecting-bar and to the arm of the lever to which the dog is pivoted, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In a railway-switch, the combination of a series of segment-gears, it, having connections for operating separate switches, a gearwheel fitted for adjustment on a shaft to en gage either segment, and a lever or handle connected to the shaft for turning the gearwheel, substantially as described.

3. The shaft 2, adjustable gcarwheel Z, shaft 121, segment-gears n, switehrods d, handle g on shaft t', and lever 8, connecting to wheel Z, substantially as described, combined for operation as specified.

4. The sliderod 1' and its slotted arm 6, combined with lever s, and gear-wheel Z, adjustably for operating either switch of a series, substantially as described.

5. In a switch, the slide-rod r, having arms s t, spring t, switch-moving lever q, and lever 8, combined for operation substantially as described.

XVILLIAM B. S. REED. \Vitnesses:

GEO. D. WALKER, C. SEDGWICK. 

